Over to the voters: mayors' resignations trigger poll

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The two former mayors of Strathfield named in the corruption
inquiry into the council, John Abi-Saab and Alfred Tsang, have
resigned, paving the way for a double byelection.

The two handed their resignations to the council's general
manager yesterday. He will notify the State Electoral Office, which
will set a date in the next two to three months for the
byelection.

The election will give residents a chance to vent their anger at
the behaviour of their councillors and the parties the two
represented, Labor and Unity. A large number of independents are
expected to stand, along with the major parties.

It could also change the balance of power on the council. An
alliance between the Liberals and the sole independent now forms
the majority, with the remaining three Labor councillors in the
minority on contentious votes.

The resignations follow the release last week of a scathing
submission by counsel assisting the Independent Commission Against
Corruption, Michael King, SC, who has recommended findings against
the two councillors.

Mr King said Mr Tsang should be found to have acted corruptly,
based on the videotape covertly recorded by the developer, Michael
Saklaoui.

Mr Tsang later went to ICAC when he discovered that the tape was
being used to force him to surrender the mayoralty.

However, Mr King reserved his fiercest criticism for Mr
Abi-Saab, whom he said had been involved in the plot to entrap Mr
Tsang and then use the tape to force him from office. Mr Abi-Saab
was "a man devoid of integrity , an unscrupulous manipulator and a
serial liar", Mr King said in his submission.

He has recommended five findings against Mr Abi-Saab, including
attempting to remove an office holder, lying to ICAC, conspiring to
have false evidence given to ICAC, and breaching supersession
orders.

While Mr Tsang made reference to counsel assisting's submission
in his resignation letter, Mr Abi-Saab said he was resigning for
health reasons.

Mr Tsang said he was devastated by the publicity he had
received. "It's simple. I don't want the council in limbo any
longer. I want council to be able to get back to a stable and
normal operation," he said.

Mr Abi-Saab did not return the Herald's calls.

There are a number of steps involved before either man would
face charges.

The first step is that ICAC must make formal findings.

Then, on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the
commission must decide whether to lay charges, and then it is up to
the courts to hear and decide the case.

Mr Abi-Saab could be looking at a jail term of five to eight
years if found guilty. Mr Tsang could also face jail, although he
has co-operated with ICAC.

The NSW Government considered whether it was possible to simply
reduce the size of the council from nine to seven, but this cannot
be done without legislative change. This would undoubtedly be
contentious, even though Burwood, a similar-sized municipality, has
only seven councillors.